Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation.

It begins simply enough: A twenty-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend, and casually appropriates the image for an insurance company's advertisement. What he doesn't realize is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences.

Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan, where he confronts not only the mythological sheep, but the confines of tradition and the demons deep within himself. Quirky and utterly captivating, A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami at his astounding best.

Review:

"[A] postmodern detective novel in which dreams, hallucinations and a wild imagination are more important than actual clues. With the help of a fluid, slangy translation, Murakami emerges as a wholly original talent." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"That such unruly, disjunctive elements mingle harmoniously within it is perhaps the signal feat in a highly accomplished piece of craftsmanship. If A Wild Sheep Chase is not in itself an unqualified success...it may be something more heartening still for the Japanese novel, a presentiment of fresh outlooks and impulses." The New Yorker

Review:

Review:

"Murakami is a mythmaker for the millennium, a wiseacre wiseman." New York Times Book Review

Review:

"Murakami is a daring writer....Sheep Chase draws from both Japanese existentialism and the absurdist work of writers such as [Kobo] Abe. I suspect Murakami is as popular as he is because he is a reader's writer." Lisa Lynch, San Francisco Review of Books

Review:

"While the climax of the story is somewhat unrewarding, many readers will enjoy being pulled along by the playful and engaging style and fluid structure. Interesting as an example of current Japanese writing and as an unusually hip and irreverent look at contemporary Japanese society." Library Journal

Review:

"Marvelously engaging, at turns witty, dry, wicked, even loopy. Reading A Wild Sheep Chase is like spending a splendidly foul weekend with the Four Raymonds — Chandler, Carver, Massey, and Queneau." Frederick Barthelme

Synopsis:

A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation. A lonely 20-something young man begins a surreal quest in which he confronts not only a herd of mythological sheep but also the demons deep within himself.

About the Author

Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Haruki Murakami grew up in Kobe and now lives near Tokyo. The most recent of his many honors is the Yomiuri Literary Prize, whose previous recipients include Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburo Oe, and Kobo Abe. His work has been translated into twenty-seven languages.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 5 comments:

Max, May 19, 2013 (view all comments by Max)
Weird and wonderful, part detective story, part postmodern novel. The characters are fascinating and quirky, and you will want to read to the end to unravel the mystery of the mutant sheep.

monica moniker, August 18, 2012 (view all comments by monica moniker)
It took me longer to get hooked on this book than on any other Murakami I've read, but it was worth it to stick with it because it got SO GOOD. Classic Murakami strangeness that I just love, and really well built up to the end.

"Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"[A] postmodern detective novel in which dreams, hallucinations and a wild imagination are more important than actual clues. With the help of a fluid, slangy translation, Murakami emerges as a wholly original talent."

"Review"
by The New Yorker,
"That such unruly, disjunctive elements mingle harmoniously within it is perhaps the signal feat in a highly accomplished piece of craftsmanship. If A Wild Sheep Chase is not in itself an unqualified success...it may be something more heartening still for the Japanese novel, a presentiment of fresh outlooks and impulses."

"Review"
by New York Times Book Review,
"Murakami is a mythmaker for the millennium, a wiseacre wiseman."

"Review"
by Lisa Lynch, San Francisco Review of Books,
"Murakami is a daring writer....Sheep Chase draws from both Japanese existentialism and the absurdist work of writers such as [Kobo] Abe. I suspect Murakami is as popular as he is because he is a reader's writer."

"Review"
by Library Journal,
"While the climax of the story is somewhat unrewarding, many readers will enjoy being pulled along by the playful and engaging style and fluid structure. Interesting as an example of current Japanese writing and as an unusually hip and irreverent look at contemporary Japanese society."

"Review"
by Frederick Barthelme,
"Marvelously engaging, at turns witty, dry, wicked, even loopy. Reading A Wild Sheep Chase is like spending a splendidly foul weekend with the Four Raymonds — Chandler, Carver, Massey, and Queneau."

"Synopsis"
by Libri,
A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation. A lonely 20-something young man begins a surreal quest in which he confronts not only a herd of mythological sheep but also the demons deep within himself.

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